Just Cause - Mako's story
by 13en-writes-all
Summary: On the U.S.-friendly island paradise of Paneu, a power-hungry dictator has overthrown the government. The U.S. sends a group of governmental advisors to negotiate peace, upon arriving they are arrested, including the brother of Ex-Navy SEAL Mako. When Mako hears he agrees to undertake the mission, rescue his brother, and kill the dictator. Rated M for violence, language, and later
1. Recruitment

**Part 1 – Paneu Revolution**

Paneu, Southeast Asia's best kept secret, a set of islands nestled somewhere in the South China Sea, in 1922, the Chinese discovered the set of islands, and set up a small outpost.

During World War Two, before the U.S. got involved, as Japan was sacking China, Imperial Japanese Forces claimed the islands as Japanese-occupied territory.

After the liberation of the Philippines on August 15th, 1945, the U.S. landed a small strike-force on the island to spy on the Japanese on August 30th, and within two days the operation was called off as Japan surrendered.

On September 2nd, 1945, World War 2 ended, and the Islands were turned back over to China as part of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.

A lot of back-alley fighting between the U.S. and the Soviet Union occurred on the island over the course of the Cold War.

At the end of the Cold War on December 25th, 1991, the U.S. set up a trading outpost on the islands, and established a U.S. presence.

On October 19th, 2016, while the island-nation's economic state dwindled, a revolution led by the son of the nation's Prime Minister who called himself Amon overthrew the government of Paneu, and Amon installed himself as the island-nation's dictator.

A U.S. Peace-Keeper's commission comprised of military administrators, Representatives of State and a U.S. Senator named Toza was sent to negotiate peace, and within minutes of landing on the island, Amon had them arrested, and jailed.

Three days later, news reached the U.S. that Toza was arrested, and outraged sprung forth, demanding the U.S. go to war.

Meanwhile at C.I.A. Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, Director of Clandestine Operations for the Agency, Deputy Director Tenzin was having a meeting Secretary of State Lin Beifong about courses of action.

"I'm surprised we've avoided having riots in the streets this long," Tenzin said, "We can't hold out like this forever."

"What do you propose?" Lin asked.

"I have one agent that says she has a theory," Tenzin said as he hit the intercom button on the table, "Tell Agent Korra she can come in."

Five foot nine American/ Latino C.I.A. Field Operative Korra walked into the office dressed in a woman's tuxedo, her long brown hair tied behind her head in a pony-tail, and she was carrying a file underneath her arm.

"Korra," Tenzin said, "Please have a seat," Korra took her seat in front of Tenzin, "I understand you have a proposal to deal with the situation in Paneu?"

"Yes sir," Korra said as she held out the file, "I wouldn't be coming here if I didn't know this was the right way, but extreme problems call for extreme solutions."

"I don't like it when you say that," Tenzin said as he took the file, the front of the file had the U.S. Department of the Navy's seal impressed into the front, Tenzin opened it, and his eyes opened a bit further, "Out of the question," he passed the file to Lin.

"You're never going to get the President to agree to send in the Navy SEALs," Korra said, "I wouldn't be presenting this to you if I wasn't confident in his abilities."

"He's an unpredictable variable," Tenzin said, "We can't trust him."

"We might not be able to trust him," Lin said, "But we need him," Lin looked a Korra, "You two were close am I right?"

"Yes," Korra said, "We were good friends."

"Then in that case you can guess who's going to recruit him," Lin said, "Where is he?"

"That's the tricky part," Korra said, "He's gone under the radar ever since he resigned."

"Surly someone's seen him." Tenzin said.

"There have been several sightings of him," Korra said, "The latest sighting of him is in Asia."

"What country?" Lin asked.

"Nepal." Korra said.

"Kathmandu," Lin asked as she looked at Tenzin.

"Maybe," Tenzin said, "There is a civil war in the country, and Kathmandu is the center of the movement."

Lin looked at Korra, "Can you handle yourself in that city?" She asked.

"I'm no little girl," Korra said, "I'll take care of it."

_Nepal…_

Korra was driving an old Willys Jeep through the battle-torn streets of Kathmandu, dressed in a pair of Danner ACU Desert TFX Rough-Out GTX boots, a pair of khaki cargo pants, a white tee-shirt, and a light-Kevlar vest.

She had a Browning BDA holstered at her hip, and an EVO3 SMG slung around her back.

She was very uneasy, she was in a country she had never been to before, in a city under siege by radical revolutionaries, and looking for a man she hadn't seen in three years.

After a few minutes, several bullets hit the side of Korra's jeep, and one of the tires went out.

Korra scrambled out, and drew the EVO3 as she peered out from behind the jeep she saw that the rebels were firing at government troops, the bullets that took out the jeep were ricochets.

Korra took to her heels, and ran into an alley which was littered with trash.

After exiting the alley, she found herself in what could have been a scene in a post-apocalyptic thriller, the street was cracked, and there were charcoaled corpses everywhere.

As she started moving up the street, an AMX-32 tank came toward her with the rebels behind it.

Korra swiftly turned around, and started running, as she did the tank took aim, and fired.

The shell missed her completely, bounced off the hood of a nearby car, went straight through the wall of a building, and exploded on impact.

Korra swiftly turned around, and fired at the rebels who started falling, then firing back.

The tank aimed again, and fired, the explosion threw Korra sideways, and stunned her.

As the rebels approached, Korra could hear her ears ringing, her head spinning, and as she tried to push herself up, one of the rebels pushed her onto her back.

One of them raised his rifle to fire, but before he could, the tank exploded, and as the rebels turned around, a single man leapt over a destroyed car.

The man came down upon one of the rebels with a flying-knee kick, and launched the rebel against a single car, smashing the car's windshield, and knocking him out cold.

One of the rebels raised his AK-74u, and as he did, the man turned around and gave the rebel a spinning crescent kick to the jaw.

Another rebel came in with his AK-47 that had an attached bayonet, and as he did, the man grabbed the rebel's AK, spun him around, and tossed him on the roof of a car before delivering three swift strikes to the man's nose.

The second to last rebel came up behind him, and raised his Beretta M9.

The man swiftly turned, swatting the man across the face with the AK, then drove the bayonet into the rebel's gut, took the Beretta M9 out of his hand, and fired at the last rebel.

The man let the rebel he was holding fall to the ground, and then turned around to face Korra, "You ok?" He asked.

"Yea," Korra said as the man helped her to her feet, "I've been looking for you."

"I know you have," the man said as he pulled down his mask to reveal Mako, a six-foot-four Japanese/Caucasian ex-Navy SEAL.

"Mako," Korra said, "It's been a long time."

"Three years," Mako said, "That's a lifetime isn't it?"

"We need to talk," Korra said, "There's…"

"We can talk when we're safe," Mako said as he turned around, and hurled the M9 in the face of the rebel he slammed into the hood of the car.

Mako and Korra took to their heels, and ran.

As they were passing through a small alley, a gunmen came around a corner with an AK-12, "Korra down!" Mako exclaimed.

Korra dropped to the ground as Mako ran up the side of the wall, then used the momentum from pushing off the wall to kick the rifle out of the rebel's hands, after that, he slammed the rebel's head into the wall, and kneed him once in the face.

After Korra stood up, Mako pulled her against his chest, and then went flat behind a wall.

"What are we…" Korra spoke before Mako covered her mouth with his hand that covered the entire lower half of her face.

She grabbed his hand just in time to hear the approaching footsteps of probably thirty to forty men.

Korra's grip on Mako's hand grew tighter as she heard one of them had stopped.

The man stayed stationary for a few seconds before returning to the convoy because his CO called him.

"Move," Mako whispered as he let go of Korra.

Mako and Korra moved to the end of the alley, and they found themselves face to face with a city dumpster, "Help me move this," Mako said as he grabbed hold of the side of the dumpster.

Korra held onto the same side, and pushed the dumpster aside to reveal a hole in the wall that led somewhere.

Mako then pushed Korra inside, then climbed in behind her, and slid the dumpster back in place to cover the entrance.

Korra felt someone standing behind her, she knew it was Mako, but she couldn't see him because it was so dark she couldn't see her hand in front of her face.

There was a small 'cling' and a click as the dim light from a zippo lighter Mako was holding created a tinny flame that illuminated a small area.

"Where are we?" Korra whispered.

"My safe house," Mako said as he reached up, grabbed hold of a light-switch, and pulled it down.

The resulting click caused the entire room to light up, and what Korra saw was no surprise.

The room was a small eighty by eight room with a small bed, a couple weapons, some lighter fluid, a spare lighter, some clothes, a duffle bag, a computer system, and a small thing of gasoline.

"We need to talk," Korra said.

"Surely," Mako said as he removed his shirt, revealing his muscular build, a blue Japanese dragon covered the top of his left bicep, and ended six inches above his elbow.

On his right arm was a tattoo of the U.S. Navy SEAL insignia, around his neck were a pair of dog tags, what wasn't there the last time Korra saw him was a set of bandages that wrapped around his waist, and then once around his shoulder.

"What happened?" Korra asked, unable to tear her eyes away from his amazingly sculpted body.

"Happened yesterday," Mako said as he changed into a black polo tee-shirt and sat down at his computer, "The Nepalese government is paying me a quarter million to gather intelligence on the rebels stronghold and movements. I ran into a small convoy moving some heavy weapons through the city, and when I radioed it in my contact said the government would pay me to destroy the weapons. As I was making my get away, I was shot in the side. Just a graze wound though, nothing serious though."

Korra sat down on the single-bed Mako had set up which was very neatly made, obviously military.

Resting on the table next to her was a Sig Sauer P226, and as she leaned back against the wall her hand fell against the pillow, and she could make out the outline of something.

Korra lifted the pillow, and found a small Ruger LCP with a gold plated trigger.

"Prepared for everything aren't you," Korra asked as she watched Mako pull out a Karambit knife, and unscrew the bottom of the hilt, then allow a small black flash-drive to fall into his hand.

"Yep," Mako said as he plugged the flash-drive into the computer, and started typing away with his left hand as he spun his knife around in his right, "So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"The U.S. needs your help Mako," Korra said, "You ever heard of a small island-nation called Paneu?"

"Yes," Mako said, "A series of islands in South China Sea. Scene of a lot of back-alley fighting between the C.I.A. and the K.G.B. during the Cold War. As of now though the Prime Minister's son has overthrown the government, and kidnapped a bunch of U.S. military personal and U.S. Senator Toza am I correct?"

"Yes." Korra said.

"And the Agency decided to send you out to recruit me?" Mako asked.

"Yes." Korra said.

"Honestly," Mako said as he pressed the _enter_ key, "What does the Agency have with a simple super soldier such as myself?"

"Mako," Korra said, "Bolin was one of the soldiers they sent in."

Mako's eyes shot open, and his knife clattered against the floor right before he turned around, "What?" He asked.

"Ever since you retired Bolin has become the U.S.'s go-to military asset for all kinds of high-risk missions," Korra said, "We never expected them to be captured the second they set foot on the island."

"Is he alive?" Mako asked.

"Yes," Korra said, "Ever-since the implementation of the vital-chip we've been keeping a close eye on our operatives. He's being held in a small fortress on the island. You're his brother, and you were the very best. The Agency is willing to pay you to go in, extract Bolin, and kill the new Prime Minister."

"What are we waiting for," Mako asked as he saved what he was doing, unplugged his flash-drive, and started to gather his things.

Mako unzipped his duffle bag, and revealed a leather vambrace with the logo of the U.S. Navy and the symbol of the SEALs impressed in gold into the leather.

What he attached to the bracer was what made Korra raise her eyebrow, Mako attached an automatic grappling-hook, and then locked it into place.

After sliding on his leather vest which had the symbol of a flame on the back, he attached the bracer to his wrist, and then holstered his P226 at his waist.

After that he slid his LCP into a holster he had mounted to his back, and slid his knife away after placing the USB drive back into the grip.

Once he stuff was packed up, Mako grabbed the tank of gasoline, and poured it over the console.

"What are you doing," Korra asked as Mako was pouring the gasoline over the computer.

"Rule one of intelligence gathering that I learned in the SEALs," Mako said, "Never leave a trace."

After emptying the can, he tossed it aside, reached behind the console, and retrieved a Fabrique Nationale FNC assault rifle.

After slapping the magazine into the rifle, pulled back on the cocking-drive, and picked up the spare lighter he had on the table.

"Up the ladder," Mako said as he pointed at the ladder Korra didn't notice.

Korra started up the ladder, and Mako followed her, right as Korra scrambled out the top onto the roof, Mako ignited the lighter, and tossed it toward the gasoline-soaked console.

After that he continued up the ladder right as the lighter hit the console, and set the thing ablaze.

After exiting the safe house, Mako led Korra across the rooftop, down another ladder, and over to a garage that opened onto street level.

What was inside the garage was a 2004 Ford Ranger that was covered in a layer of Kevlar, another layer of sheet metal, and had an M60 machinegun mounted on the back.

"What are you prepared for World War 3 here?" Korra asked.

"This is for getting out of the city when you need to," Mako said as he opened the passenger-side door, threw his duffle-bag inside, and jumped in the bed, "You drive, I'll shoot."

Korra took her seat, and started the car, realizing it was a manual she sort of relaxed because her father taught her how to drive a manual car, and her first car was actually a manual 1971 Ford Mustang.

After pulling out of the garage, and onto the streets of Kathmandu, a few shots hit the side of the truck, and bounced off, "Go, go, go!" Mako exclaimed.

Korra floored the Ranger, upshifted into second then third as Mako turned the M60 around, and started firing.

As the rebels started firing back, Mako took a few shots at several barrels mounted on the rooftops, and as he did, they exploded, and sent fire raining down on top of the rebels, forming a wall of fire between the truck and the rebels.

After that, Mako sat back against the window of the ranger, and pushed the glass aside, "We're clear," Mako said as a bullet ricocheted off the floor, and got stuck in the Kevlar an inch from his face, "Ok," Mako tapped the bullet hole, "Almost had my name on it."

"Where to?" Korra asked.

"Half a mile outside town," Mako said, "My contact said he was going to meet me there."

Once they were that far outside town, they ran into a Nepalese Army blockade who stopped them, and asked for identification.

"Alpha Zulu Bravo." Mako said.

"Aren't we all," the Nepalese Army Commander asked as he slapped Mako on the shoulder, "What took you?"

"Family reunion," Mako said as Korra stepped out of the Ranger.

Mako then drew his Karambit, unscrewed the bottom, and let the flash-drive fall into his contact's hand.

After plugging the flash-drive into the computer one of the Nepalese Army soldier brought forth, he retrieved a stainless steel suitcase, and held it out to Mako.

Mako unclipped the suitcase, and opened it to reveal that it contained twenty ounce gold bars, "As promised," Mako's contact said, "One quarter million in twenty ounce gold bars."

"It's all there," Mako said as he closed the case, and took it from is contact, "Tell General Tang it was a pleasure doing business with him. You think one of your helicopter boys can give me and the lady a ride?"

Mako's contact snapped, and signaled them to get the chopper ready.

They boarded the chopper, and lifted off heading for home.

_More will be explained later…_


	2. Washington

**Part 2 – Langley**

After making a quick stop in Zurich to deposit Mako's gold, Mako and Korra boarded a U.S.-owned V.I.P. plane bound for Washington.

The plane was a replica of Air Force One complete with a meeting room and everything.

While in the air Korra handed Mako a suit to wear when in Washington.

The jacket was a triple-buttoned, notched lapel black jacket with double-vented tail, slanted pocket flaps, and a black diamond jacquard lining.

The shirt was a black microfiber shirt, and it came with a primetime red tie and vest that Mako easily put on.

The cufflinks were white and gold studs.

After sliding on the mirrored aviator sunglasses he found on the desk, and looking in the mirror he realized that Korra had somehow snuck a golden SEAL's pin onto the right lapel.

Once they arrived in Washington, Korra could see Mako was a little uneasy, he hadn't been back to the U.S. since he resigned from the Navy, but she didn't really blame him for resigning.

Nine years ago, Mako was a simple Navy Hostage Rescue officer until he was recruited to be part of a secret government project designed to create the ultimate soldier, a super-soldier if you would.

The project was successful beyond anything the government scientists had ever dreamed it could be, Mako was 75% faster than what they originally projected him to be, his strength increased by 80% which enabled him to lift five hundred and fifty pounds, his I.Q. jumped five points each day for three weeks enabling him to learn Systema, Dim-Mak, Krav Maga, and Judo within four months of training instead of years.

After being released from the project and growing from six foot two to six foot four, Mako was immediately instated into the Navy Special Warfare Development Group (SEAL Team 6), and quickly became the U.S.'s greatest weapon against terrorists, Mafia kingpins, Cartel leaders, genocidal military commanders, and the occasional psychopath with a nuclear bomb.

He served the U.S. proud for six years until he was twenty six, and then he discovered his profile listed him as an _Expendable Asset_.

It didn't take long for him to figure out that they still had the original research, and that if he died they could just start over, do the same thing with another soldier like him, and he'd be just another name on the memorial wall at Arlington plus another one of the four hundred thousand names lost in the sea of tombstones in the cemetery.

After learning of his value to his country, he resigned, and upon learning his mother was terminally ill with cancer he became a mercenary to raise money for her treatment which she had been responding well to.

Mako and Korra were greeted on the runway by a convoy of black Chevrolet Equinoxes with blacked-out windows, along with Capital Police and a Cadillac XTS limousine.

The person that stepped out was Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

Mako shot into attention, and saluted the secretary who smiled, "Mr. Mako," Secretary Hagel said as held out his hand to Mako who shook it, "It's good to see you again."

"You to sir," Mako said, "Time has not been kind to me, but I can't say the same for you."

"I still want to know where you got your silver tongue," Secretary Hagel said as he ushered Mako and Korra into the limo.

As they were driving, Mako took his time to look out the window, and watched D.C. fly by the window.

"The City hasn't changed much hasn't it," Secretary Hagel asked as he looked at Mako, and saw him watch the families walk by, they couldn't see him because of the tinted windows, but he could see them.

"No," Mako said, "I'm a little surprised. Especially with the way things have been coming along."

"You're worried about your brother aren't you?" Korra asked.

"What brother wouldn't?" Mako asked.

"It wasn't my choice to send your brother in," Secretary Hagel said, "I opposed it but Tenzin acted on his own accord."

"I don't blame you sir," Mako said, "I blame myself, if I had been here I would have been the one they sent in, and he would be safe here," Mako reached behind him, and retrieved a glass of Maker's Mark Whiskey, "You don't mind do you?"

"Not at all." Secretary Hagel said.

Mako grabbed himself a glass, and poured himself a small drink.

"Cigar," Korra asked as she held out the kind of cigar Mako used to smoke.

"I don't smoke anymore," Mako said as he downed his drink, "I decided alcohol was enough."

The three arrived at the Pentagon within half an hour of arriving at the airport.

Once they arrived, everyone in the Pentagon that was checking in looked at Mako, and instantly knew who he was.

"The…" Secret Service Agent Michael Brown started before the clerk stopped him.

"I know who he is Agent Brown," the clerk said as he looked at Mako, "It's good to have you back sir."

"Thank you." Mako said.

The four passed right on through, and entered the main area of the Pentagon where many people started whispering when they saw him.

"It's Mako," Mako heard several people whisper.

As they were walking down the hall to the elevator, Mako noticed that his picture was on the Wall of Heroes, and he stopped to look at his picture.

"Never expected to see this did you?" Secretary Hagel asked.

"No sir," Mako said as he reached up, and gently brushed his finger across the Congressional Medal of Honor that was hanging around his portrait's neck.

"You still have it?" Korra asked.

"The medal," Mako asked, "I gave it to my mother."

"Come on," Korra said as she placed a hand on Mako's shoulder, "He's waiting."

Mako followed Secretary Hagel and Korra to the elevator.

Once they rode the elevator, they found themselves outside the door to the Nerve Center located five stories below the Pentagon.

"Go ahead," Secretary Hagel said as he pointed at the door.

Mako pressed on the intercom button, "Mako, Lieutenant Commander, 13-1-11-15." He said.

"Voice print and facial recognition confirmed," the automatic voice said, "Welcome back Commander. You've been gone for three years, five months, and twenty three days."

"Thanks," Mako said, "We're here to see Tenzin."

"Please," the voice said, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal the Nerve Center.

"Deja vu right?" Korra asked.

"Like most of D.C. this place hasn't changed," Mako said as he leaned over the railing, and looked down into the center.

One of the generals looked up, and instantly recognized Mako, "Well I'll be fucked," he said as he stood upright, "I never thought I'd see this day."

"Lieutenant Commander Mako's back," Navy Admiral Zuko said as everyone started clapping while Mako came down the stairs.

Several Navy Captains came up, and shook Mako's hand as he walked into the meeting room.

When he arrived in the meeting room, he found Senator Beifong and Tenzin waiting for him along with U.S. President Raiko.

"Mr. President sir," Mako said as he shot into attention.

"I see you stay up to date," President Raiko said as he put his hand on Mako's shoulder, and ushered him toward the table, "Please, sit," Mako sat at the table opposite Tenzin while Korra took her seat next to Mako, across the table from Senator Beifong, and President Raiko sat at the end, "Now down to business. Let be the first to apologize for your brother. We never knew what would happen when we sent him in."

"Is he ok?" Mako asked.

"Last we heard of him he was alive," President Raiko said, "He's being held as a political prisoner in a small cell somewhere in the mountains of Paneu."

"Any demands?" Mako asked.

"The new Prime Minister who calls himself Amon has made several serious demands that we can't meet," President Raiko said, "He wants us to turn over the location of the nuclear missile silos we have on the island. He also wants thirty billion in gold, enough munitions to support his army, and fifteen U.S. destroyers."

"All things the U.S. can't give," Mako said, "Thirty billion in gold is about two hundred and nine one million ounces, and you don't even have that much in Fort Knox."

"Exactly," President Raiko said, "And we don't have that many destroyers, plus we'd be giving away a valuable piece of property if we were to give away the location of our silos."

"Not to mention a chunk of America's national security," Mako said, "A functioning Nuke is worth fifty million on the black market, and twenty times that in ransom to a government."

"Exactly," President Raiko said, "Right now we're facing the greatest threat to our country's survival since The Cuban Missile Crisis. As of now we're at DEFCON Five but we're keeping it quiet from the public. If they find our silos we could be looking at DEFCON Three or higher."

"If we don't do anything there's the possibility the U.S. could get nuked by Amon launched from Paneu," Mako said, "But we do nuke the island we could be looking at a million people from all over the world dying in an instant, and an area Nuclear Fallout reaching as far the Nepalese/Russian border to the Southern Tip of Australia and from Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea to Mumbai in India."

"In a nutshell, yes," President Raiko said, "As of now we're gathering our forces in case this entire situation becomes hot. But we can't risk open conflict just yet."

"So what do you want me to do," Mako asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"We want you to go in," President Raiko said, "When you're on the island your objectives are simple: rescue your brother, disable the nukes, and if possible, terminate Amon."

"And by terminate you mean…" Mako said as he held out his index and middle finger like a gun, and waved it upwards like he had fired a gun.

"Yes," President Raiko said, "And we'd like a retinal and facial conformation-scan to show us that is Amon."

"He keeps his face hidden," Mako said, "How do we know if the man I kill is Amon at all?"

"There's little that escapes us," Tenzin said, "When the first days of the revolution were happening, we decided to gather Intel on Amon, and we managed to get several scans of his face with his mask off."

"How'd you accomplish that?" Mako asked.

"That's classified at this moment," Tenzin said, "Special Forces manual page…"

"One and forty six, paragraph two," Mako said, "Right under the coffee stain my instructor put on the paper during my training."

"You remember that your instructor left a coffee stain on the Special Forces manual you were reading?" Tenzin asked.

"How could I not," Mako said, "When I brought it up threw the coffee cup that made the stain at me."

"As I recall a coffee cup was used in the instructor's assault by one of his student." Senator Beifong said.

"Funny," Mako said, "I don't remember that."

"Of course you don't." Tenzin said.

"What's it going to cost us?" President Raiko asked.

"Rescuing by brother would be enough," Mako said, "But you want me to diffuse how many warheads, take on how many armed soldiers, and kill a bloodthirsty dictator that overthrew a government that his father ran?"

"Five nukes," Tenzin said, "Twenty thousand soldiers, and yes."

"Let's see," Mako said as he scratched his chin, "Gonna need expense money, bribe money, and money for putting the lives of a million plus people at risk if I'm caught, captured, or the nukes go off."

President Raiko pulled out a piece of paper, a pen, and placed it in front of Mako, "Name your price." He said.

"In gold, half now, half upon completion," Mako said as he wrote down his number, and handed it to Tenzin.

"Five million dollars?" Tenzin asked.

"You want one hundred and thirty pounds of gold right now?" Senator Beifong asked.

"Yes." Mako said.

"Hmm," President Raiko said, "I was expecting more," President Raiko pulled out his check book, and wrote out a check addressed to the U.S. Treasury, "Two million, five hundred thousand dollars U.S. to paid to one Commander Mako in ten ounce gold bars."

President Raiko handed the check to Senator Beifong who walked out the door to take it to the treasury.

"Commander sir?" Mako asked.

"You've been reinstated," President Raiko said, "And promoted, full Commander."

"We need you boots on the ground in twenty four hours," Tenzin said, "We can't risk another second."

"It's going to have to be twenty five hours," Mako said, "There's somewhere I have to be before I land on that island."

"Take your time," President Raiko said, "We'll see you when you're done."

Mako was given a new white U.S. Naval dress uniform so he could blend in with the Navy Sailors he would be joining on the ship heading into the pacific.

He was required to change into the naval uniform, and was given a few hours to pay a visit to someone he loved.

At 1350 hours, Mako and Korra arrived in San Francisco, and at 1406 hours, they arrived at a small house on Broderick Street.

"Haven't seen this place in a while have you?" Korra asked.

"No," Mako said as he removed his Navy Officer's cap, and walked up to the front door before knocking.

The person that answered the door was Mako's grandmother, Yin, "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Hi grandma." Mako said.

"Mako," Yin said as a smile graced her seventy five year old lips, she still had her lucky dentures with her, and then reached up to give her grandson a hug.

Mako reached around, and hugged his grandmother with his free-arm, "It's good to see you to." Mako said.

"What are you doing here?" Yin asked.

"I heard about Bolin," Mako said, "And I needed to see if everything was ok."

"Come on in," Yin said, "And bring your friend in to."

Mako, Korra, and Yin entered the house to see that nothing much had changed, besides the leather couches.

After climbing the stairs, they entered Mako's parents' bedroom to see his mother, Lin lying on the bed, and his father, San sitting on the bed talking to her, his uncle Chow, and his cousin Tu standing next to him.

Mako's father, San was an Army Ranger back in Panama, later Desert Storm, and then the U.S. invasion of Iraq before retiring and becoming a worker at the shipyards at the San Francisco docks where Mako fell in love with the water, and the Navy.

His uncle, Chow was a Navy Officer for twenty two years who served in the final days of El Salvador, Grenade, Panama, and Desert storm, then retired, and became a teacher down at the Navy Yards.

Tu was a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps currently stationed in Afghanistan but left to look after Lin.

"Bolin will be fine," San said as he put his hand on his wife's shoulder.

"I'm still scared," Lin said before looking up, and seeing Mako standing there dressed in a Naval Officer's uniform.

"Hi mom," Mako said as he placed his hat down on the table next to the entrance.

"Hello son," San said as he looked at his son with some minor disappointment, "I see you're still well, unlike your brother."

"Don't make the boy feel any worse San," Chow said, "He's probably still mad at himself for leaving."

"Maybe," Tu said, "What's up with the uniform?"

Mako signaled for Korra to step up beside him, "Everyone, this is Korra," Mako said as he put his hand on Korra's shoulder, "She's a representative of the Agency."

"What does the C.I.A. want with a rent a clown with a gun like you?" Tu asked.

"This rent a clown has been reinstated." Korra said.

"Korra," Mako snapped, "They asked me to go in," Mako walked over to his mother's side, and put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm gonna get him out. I promise."

"You can't," Lin said as she seized her son's arm, "They already have Bolin, I don't want the same thing happening to you."

"I'm too good for them," Mako said as he grabbed his mother's hand, "I'll be fine. I'm gonna get him out, I promise."

"Be careful," Lin said as she kissed her son on the forehead.

"Thanks mom," Mako said as he kissed his mother and stood up.

"Mako," San said as he seized his son by the bicep, "The man they're sending you in after is a psychopath. If you try to assassinate him..."

"Amon's not the reason I'm going in dad," Mako said as he looked at his father, "I'm going in for Bolin, Amon's a secondary objective."

"I know that tone son," San said, "That's the same tone you used when you got into that fist fight with Stan Mathews in High School over that girl."

"As I recall I won that fight," Mako said, "And came out without a scratch," Mako freed his arm from his father's grip, "I'll be fine."

"Son," San said before Mako walked out the door.

"Yes?" Mako asked.

San embraced his son, "Good luck son," he said, "Bring him home."

Mako wrapped his arms around his father, "I will," Mako said, "I will."

After Mako and Korra left, San watched as his son drove off toward the harbor, "You sure he'll be ok?" Lin asked.

"He's our son," San said as he looked at his wife, "And a super-soldier. If anyone can save our youngest son, it's our oldest son."

_It's off to Paneu, hold on Bolin, your brother is on his way…_


	3. Welcome to Paneu

**Part 3 – Paneu**

The ship they taking to get into Paneu was an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Avatar, which was docked in Hawaii, after traveling on the Avatar for a week, the carrier entered the South China Sea.

The way they got the island was via an MH-60 Knighthawk helicopter.

Before taking off Mako got dressed in what he was wearing when both him and Korra left Nepal, save for the crimson red scarf his grandfather wore all throughout his service in Vietnam.

Korra was dressed in a pair of U.S. issued combat boots, a pair of U.S. camouflage pants, a white tee-shirt, and a green tactical vest.

"Welcome to Paneu," Korra said as Mako looked at the side of the chopper, "Southeast Asia's best kept secret."

"The place reeks of crime, revolution, and death," Mako said, "And yet there's something oddly familiar about it."

"Well you're going to like where you're going then," Korra said as the chopper flew over an oil refinery in the middle of Paneu Bay, "We believe that there's actual intel on some of Amon's operations here."

"A refinery?" Mako asked.

"Disguised as an oil refinery," Korra said, "You know what to do?"

"Oh yea," Mako said as he walked over to the door, "How do I get down?"

"This way," Korra said as she handed Mako a parachute pack, "We had our techs at headquarters make this, the parachute is made of spider-thread so it's stronger than Kevlar. Once you've reached the ground, the parachute pulls itself back into the pack, and it's ready to go next time."

Mako strapped on the parachute which locked at two points in the area where his chest met his stomach, and then locked in the center of his chest for additional support.

An alarm went off as a SAM turret targeted the chopper, "Missile, missile," the pilot said as he evaded the missile.

As the chopper jolted to the side, Korra almost fell out if Mako hadn't reached out, and grabbed hold of her forearm.

"Nice catch," Korra said as Mako pulled her back into the chopper.

"Thanks," Mako said as he pulled Korra back into the chopper, "I'll signal you when I'm finished," Mako flipped backwards, and started falling toward the mountain.

Mako pulled his chute around two thousand feet, and glided into the side of the mountain.

His hands grabbed hold of the side of the mountain as the parachute zipped back into the pack.

After climbing the side of the mountain, he found himself standing in front of a large wall, all he did was aim his grappling-hook up the wall, and zipped up the side.

When he reached the ledge, he ducked down to avoid getting spotted by Paneu National Guard which was a former member of the revolution that killed the former prime minister.

Once the soldier turned, Mako leapt over the wall, and before he could turn and react, Mako had his thumb on the man's chin, and with one swift shove, there was a slight '_crack_', and the soldier's body fell limp against the ground in front of Mako, his face frozen in a normal expression as if he didn't even hear anything before he died.

After moving on, Mako found himself standing right outside the door to the mess-hall, as he opened it, several cooks were getting ready to start preparing dinner for the soldiers.

One of the cooks turned to face Mako, and as he raised his mouth to scream, Mako punched him once in the stomach, then jabbed two fingers into the cook's mouth, and poked the back of his throat.

The cook leaned over, and blew chunks all over the floor, along with some blood after Mako withdrew his hand before he used the cook's head for karate practice, and kicked him in the side of the head, knocking him out.

One of the cooks turned to face his friend just in time to take a waffle-iron to the side of the head.

The final cook pulled out an M9 Beretta, then as he was pulling out a case of 9mm bullets, he slipped on some oil, hit his head on the edge of the deep-fryer, and was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Mako picked up the bullet-box, turned the deep-fryer on, poured about twelve bullets into his palm, and dropped them into the fryer.

After moving through the halls, he arrived right outside the office of the commanding officer, squeezed his way into the ventilation-shaft, and then checked his watch.

Mako checked the time, and thought, "Seven, six," the bullets he dropped in the deep-fryer were started to expel tens of thousands of air-bubbles, "Five, four, three, two…" he looked up just as the heat inside the fryer caused powder inside the bullets to explode.

Alarms started going off all over the place, and the commanding officer himself went running out of his office holding an AK-74SU.

Mako then flicked a quarter out of his pocket, and blocked the door before it could close.

Once the soldiers moved on, Mako climbed out of the vent, scrambled into the office, and shut it behind him before anyone could see him.

The commanding officer was still logged into his computer, and quickly, he unsheathed his knife, plugged in his flash-drive, and downloaded everything he could before the alarms died down.

After unplugging his flash-drive, he scrambled out the window, and latched onto the side of his building before kicking the window shut at the base commanding officer came in.

He then zipped up the wall, and came right up to the edge, just missing having a single soldier spot him by an inch.

After clinging onto the edge of the building, he drew the suppressed Kel-Tec Sub 2000 which he had holstered at his thigh, out-folded it, and prepared to fire.

Just before Mako eased his finger on the trigger, the soldier moved on.

"Haircut are you there," Korra asked over the radio.

Mako held the cable between his legs, then leaned backwards, and pressed two fingers to his earpiece, "Go ahead Bright-eyes." Mako said.

"Do you have the intel?" Korra asked.

"Ten-four," Mako said, "What's the status on extraction?"

"Non-existent," Korra said, "We've got Anti-air still trying to get a lock on us so we need to land this bird, you're on your own for now."

"I don't have anything to cause a distraction," Mako said as he looked around before spotting several oil-lines that led around the entire complex, "I think I have an idea, I'll meet you at the bar."

Mako quickly attached a new line, and swung over to another wall, and after releasing, he flew over the courtyard, used another line to secure himself to the wall, and grabbed onto the side of the oil-tank.

After the guards had moved on, Mako retrieved his knife, punctured a hole in the side of the tank, lit a match, and placed it in the path of the oil.

He then took to his heels, and ran for the edge of the complex as the oil caught fire, after it reached the tank, Mako dove over the side of the complex into the bay as the tank exploded.

After swimming to shore, he looked back, saw the refinery up in flames, and thought, "Wonder where I can get a decent drink."

There was a town about fifty feet from the shore with a little bar 'a friend' of his recommended.

It was a Shanghai-themed bar with good cocktails, but that's not what drew him in, what drew him in was the sexy mocha-skinned female with long black hair tied up in a ponytail sitting at the bar dressed in a red cocktail dress.

Mako walked up to the bar, and asked the woman with aqua blue eyes, "Excuse me miss, is this seat taken?"

"No," she said as she motioned to the seat, "Please."

"What can I get you sir," the bartender said as he walked up to Mako.

"Scotch on the rocks." Mako said.

"Make it a double," the woman said, "A handsome guy like you must want to have a good time."

"What a girl like you with me," Mako asked as the bartender placed the drink in front of him, "I'd say a good time just found me."

Mako tapped his glass against the woman's, after finishing their drinks, they stood up and walked off, "It's about time you showed up," Korra said, adjusting the strap of her dress, "You know I hate wearing dresses with tight legs."

"I stopped off along the way," Mako said, "Had to cool off. She here?"

"Out back," Korra said, slipping her hand into Mako's, and depositing a key.

Around back, Mako and Korra walked up to a beautiful 1959 BMW 507 with a metallic black paintjob.

After climbing in, Mako started the car, and drove toward the safe house.

At the safe house, Mako and Korra opened the door, and stepped into a horrible apartment, "Man budget cuts eh?" Mako asked.

"Not many," Korra said as she pulled Mako into the bathroom, "Why don't we take a shower?"

After pulling him in, Korra pulled the shower-handle, and the entire floor moved beneath them.

They were carried three stories below the main house into a larger area that was complete with weapons, computers, and very high-class modern amenities.

"How's that?" Korra asked.

"Holy shit," Mako said, "Now this… this is why I love you."

"Oh shut up," Korra said, "Now we begin."

"Where do we begin?" Mako asked.

"With me," a young woman said as she entered, she was gorgeous, green eyes, short black hair, and tannish-white skin.

"And you are?" Mako asked.

"Opal," the woman said, "Chinese Intelligence."

"Welcome Opal," Mako said, "What've you got?"

Opal walked over to one of the computers, and a quick image of a recording came on screen, "Just came in two days ago from a black market operator called Lil Bon gave us an anonymous tip that Amon was going after someone called Gommu," Opal said, "They're going after him now at the Sky-bridge Casino. That's a half hour drive."

"Then I drive fast," Mako said as he picked up his P226, and loaded a fresh magazine.

"Where are you going?" Korra asked.

"This Gommu must be important if he sends his army after this guy," Mako said, "You don't send the army after a drunk at a casino unless he knows something."

"You need a vehicle," Korra said, "And you're not taking the 507."

"The agency's provided you with a vehicle," Opal said as she walked over to the garage door, and opened it to reveal a 2015 Kawasaki Zx10r in reflective metallic black.

"Kawasaki Zx10r," Mako said as he walked up to the bike, and ran his hand across the bike's bodyline, "Gorgeous," he then picked up the helmet, it was advanced carbon fiber infused with Kevlar, capable of withstanding a .44 magnum, and had a mirrored-visor, "I'll be back."

"Careful," Opal said, "That bike is expensive, but we've outfitted it with return-to-base function," she pointed to a small red button on the center-console, "Just tap that once, and the bike will return."

Mako nodded as he jumped on the bike, kick started it to life, and took off toward the Sky-Bridge Casino.

Driving through the streets of Paneu, he knew why it was a very popular tourist destination, the way the water reflected off the bay was gorgeous, and the Sky-Bridge Casino was no exception.

There was just one exception, the twenty armored Paneu Military Vehicles in front of the building with the Paneu military guarding the building.

Mako jumped off the bike, and hit the _return to base_ button on the bike, and approached.

One of the soldiers saw Mako approaching, and signaled him to stop advancing.

The soldier raised his rifle only to have Mako strip him of it, and crack him in the wind-pipe with the butt-stock of the Stoner 63, then smacked him on the back of the head, and threw it at one of his buddies that raised his own rifle to fire.

The Stoner made a thud as it came in contact with the man's head, after dealing with the first soldier, Mako knocked the rifle out of the man's hands, picked him up, and smashed his skull into the armored vehicle's window, causing a large crater to appear in the glass.

One of the soldiers ran up to him with a tactical knife, Mako simply flung the door he smashed the man's compatriot into open, block the man, and disarming him before Mako ripped the armored vehicle's mirror off, and smashed him upside the head with it, knocking him out cold.

Another raised his rifle to fire as Mako kicked the knife the soldier was carrying into his hand, and then kicked it toward the soldier who took it in the eye.

The soldier raised his hand to his eye as Mako came in with a flying grapple, and bashed the man's head into the ground.

Another one of the soldiers raised his rifle to fire, Mako simply drew his P226, and fired one round through the man's head.

Mako saw one of the heavy soldiers was going up the elevator, he holstered his P226, and ran toward the elevator.

The heavy trooper saw Mako running toward him, and readied his M60 LMG.

As he raised his M60, Mako fired his grappling-hook at one of the pillars, and used forward momentum from a running-wall jump to swing him around, smashing through the glass, and stealing the M60 from the heavy's hands before jumping onto the roof of the next elevator which was one floor ahead of the heavy.

As the heavy grabbed his Desert Eagle, and popped out to fire at Mako, Mako threw his line across to another side of the elevator, and swung around, firing at the elevator's cables, sending both elevators falling to the ground, and smashing upon impact, killing the heavy.

Releasing the hook, the momentum from the swing to launch himself up five stories before attaching another line to a flag-pole.

Another bound launched Mako into the casino's sky bridge where Gommu was fending off Paneu soldiers with a Colt Anaconda with a nickel-plated finish and cherry-wood grips.

As he smashed through the window, Gommu looked over, and saw a man dressed in a pair of military-grade boots, denim jeans, a black tee-shirt, and a short-sleeve leather jacket with a red scarf around his neck carrying an M60.

As Gommu raised the Anaconda to fire, Mako fired first, killing the Paneu soldiers.

"Gommu," Mako asked as he walked toward the man.

"Who are you?" Gommu asked.

"Name's Mako," Mako said as he ran out of bullets in the M60, and threw it aside to grab his P226, and kept firing.

"What are you," Gommu asked, "C.I.A.?"

"Mercenary," Mako said as he grabbed Gommu, and shielded him as he walked toward the exit, "Let's get out of here."

Once they were through the door, Mako grabbed one of the roulette tables, and barricaded the door with it.

When he turned around, Gommu was making a run for the exit, Mako just grabbed him with his grappling-hook, and yanked him back to him.

Gommu looked up at Mako, and smiled, Mako smiled back, but the smile soon disappeared as he grabbed the man, and slammed him against the wall, holding his P226 in the man's face, "No more bullshit alright?" Mako asked.

"Ok, ok," Gommu said as he raised his hands, "What do you want?"

"What does Amon want with you?" Mako asked.

"He's after everyone associated with the old Republic of Paneu." Gommu said.

"That's bullshit," Mako said as he fired a warning-shot into the wall, an inch from Gommu's head, "You were never part of the former Paneu government. What do you know?"

There was banging on the door, and several gunshots came through the wood, "Get me out of her, and I'll tell you everything." Gommu said.

"Fine," Mako said as he grabbed Gommu by the back of the shirt, and ran toward one of the windows.

"What are you doing?" Gommu asked.

"Shut the fuck up," Mako said as he raised his P226, and emptied half the magazine through the window which shattered when he jumped through, holding onto Gommu.

Once they were fifty feet from the ground, Mako pulled the chute, and both him and Gommu dropped to the road.

Once their feet touched the ground, Gommu ran up to his car which was a 2013 Chevrolet Avalanche, "My car," he said as he hugged his car tight, "You're ok."

"Alright," Mako said as he walked up to Gommu, "Why the hell is Amon after you?"

The sound of sirens and automatic gunfire filled the air

"They're coming for me," Gommu said as he broke free from Mako's grasp, reached into the back of his truck, retrieved an MM1 12-shot 40mm grenade launcher, and handed it to Mako, "Get me out of here and I'll tell you everything."

"Fine," Mako exclaimed as he flipped open the top of the MM1 to reveal the gun was fully-loaded, "Nice piece," he quickly flipped it closed as the sound of explosions approaching filled the air, "Let's get out of here," Mako pushed Gommu into the car, and jumped into the back, "Punch it!"

As Gommu stepped on it, Mako positioned himself in the back of the truck, pushing his back into the front of the bed, and using his feet to hold himself in place he pushed himself upwards a little to expose the top-half of his torso.

The Avalanche was speeding down the road as several Military Police vehicles came speeding up behind them.

As Mako raised the MM1, two Military Police sat up on the edge of the window-sill of the first jeep, and pulled out Skorpion SMGs.

As they cocked the SMGs, Mako fired a round at the vehicle.

The explosive missed the front of the jeep, but impact the ground which sent an explosion through the floor of the jeep, killing the driver, and ejecting the two soldiers sitting on the window-sill.

The one on the right side of the jeep was sent flying into a street sign which was left with a human-body shaped dent in the sign.

The second was sent flying into the glass of the second jeep which left a large dent along with blood across the entire window.

As the driver undid the latches on the window, and let the broken window fall, Mako took this chance to fire one grenade through the jeep's window which sent the jeep leaping into the air in a fiery inferno.

Following the explosion, a small squad of bikes came driving up behind them, the soldiers were carrying M76 SMGs, they managed to pepper the back of the truck as Mako dove into cover, and drop the MM1.

Mako kicked open one of the boxes in the back of the truck to reveal a Colt Commando rifle, "Hello beautiful," he said as he loaded the 30-round magazine into the gun, and cocked the small rifle.

After the second round of bullets stopped flying, Mako stood up as fast as he could, and firing it sideways emptied the entire clip into the soldiers.

After reloading Gommu made a sharp turn off-road which caused Mako to be slammed against the side of the truck's bed, and lost the Commando.

"TAKE IT EASY ON THE TURNS WILL YOU?!" Mako yelled.

"Sorry!" Gommu replied.

Mako reached down to pick up the MM1 back up as a single soldier jumped a bike over the truck, leapt off, and tackled Mako into the back of the truck.

Mako kicked the man's hand away as he drew his Taurus Model 605, and nailed the soldier on the side of the skull.

The soldier lost the 605 but came back at Mako with a wild haymaker, Mako blocked the swing, delivered an blow to the man's gut, the soldier came back with a blow aimed toward Mako's throat, Mako grabbed the man's arm, and using the momentum jammed his opponent's hand into the brake light on top of the truck, breaking his knuckles and spreading glass into the wound.

As the soldier leaned over to scream in pain, Mako's boot got him on the bridge of the nose, and his fist spun him around, causing him to fall off the back of the truck onto the road.

Mako picked up the 605, emptied the chambers, and tossed the revolver onto the road.

The soldier stood up, and picked up to his revolver, "Damn," was all that escaped his lips at first, "Who was that guy?"

It was nighttime when Mako and Gommu got back to the Agency safe house, once back, Gommu stepped out of the truck for Mako to punch him across the face.

"Alright," Mako said as he forced Gommu against the wall and pressed his P226 into the man's chest, "Enough of this bullshit! You're going to tell me why the fuck Amon sent his fucking army after you right now or I'm going to paint the side of this truck with the contents of your damn heart!"

"Mako stop," Korra exclaimed as she seized his arm, "Mako, he's a U.S. Overseas asset."

"What," Mako asked as he released Gommu, "You saying this drunk's a C.I.A. Agent?"

"Hey," Gommu exclaimed, "I resent that."

"You shut your fucking mouth," Mako exclaimed as he holstered his P226, and pointed at the drunk, "Because of you it's likely the whole damn island of Paneu knows we're here! That masked blood-thirsty asshole probably knows we're here too! This entire operation was put in jeopardy because of your recklessness!"

_Secret Paneu Government Facility…_

"What army defeated my men?" Amon asked.

"It wasn't an army sir," the soldier that Mako gave the 605 back to said, "It was one man."

"One man?" Amon asked.

"I've never seen anything like it," the soldier said, "He fought like a demon. I've never seen a man move that fast, or hit that hard."

"I can tell." Amon said.

The soldier was seriously beaten, the glass that was embedded into his hand had to be picked out, but was still broken and bandaged, the blow to his gut had bruised his diaphragm to the point where a single thump would cause that area to rupture, and the blows to his skull had broken his nose so it was splinted, and his eye was black and swollen shut.

"I swear it was like I wasn't even fighting a human," the soldier said.

"What could he be if he wasn't human?" Amon asked.

"Sir," the soldier said, "I think we're dealing with a Meta-human."

"A super-soldier," Amon asked, "You've been reading too many comic-books my friend. Now get out of my sight."

As the soldier was leaving, he turned to see a single solider holding a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun.

The soldier fired both barrels, blowing him backwards, and killing him.

Amon's second-in-command known simply as Lieutenant walked in to see his boss.

"So," Lieutenant said, "What are we looking at?"

Amon looked out his window, "It seems the Americans have finally grown a spine," he said as he put his hands behind his back, "They've finally decided to send someone good. Find him."

"Yes sir." Lieutenant said.

I wonder what happens next. Go ahead, guess…


End file.
